All the CDC Wants for Christmas Is You (to Stop Eating Raw Cookie Dough)

It might be tempting so scoop a fingerful of raw cookie dough out of the bowl — especially when you're baking all the best holiday cookie recipes — but the CDC is warning you not to. After two recent foodborne illness scares with romaine and ground beef, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants you to stay safe and not get sick from eating raw cookie dough this season, even if it means you won’t be living your best Christmas cookie life.

“Say No to Raw Dough!” the CDC has captioned their public service announcement about how raw dough for things like cookies, cakes, and bread can contain bacteria from uncooked flour and raw eggs that could cause diseases.

“Tasting unbaked products that are intended to be cooked, such as dough or batter, can make you sick. Children can get sick from handling or eating raw dough used for crafts or play clay, too,” the CDC wrote.

The government agency referred to a 2016 E.coli outbreak linked to raw flour that made 63 people sick and warned that those products may still be in your home. They also warned that raw eggs could contain salmonella if consumed uncooked.